Les hasards de l'amour

I have seen this movie more times than any other. My mother taped it off television and my sisters and I would watch it every day after school. I recently watched it again after not having seen it for several years, and despite my expectations of disappointment, I loved it just as much as ever. The old commercials are a kick too (pre-bunny Energizer commercials - TOO RIGHT THE EXTRAORDINARY ENERGIZER IT'LL SURPRISE YA!)

If you think, as I do, that Helena Bonham-Carter is one of the most charming faces and voices around, you will enjoy this young vision of her. And her eyebrows are more active here than anywhere else.

I love this movie and have done since I first saw it many years ago.

The script is firmly buried in cliché and is in places laughable (She's about to have the vapours - I'll lay odds on it!) but that only adds to its charm.

An impressive early performance from Helena Bonham-Carter as the spunky country-mouse, and a first look at Marcus Gilbert (phoaar) as the brooding-yet-misunderstood-and-hunky Lord Vulcan provides the energy of the movie, but the old guard (Diana Rigg, Stewart Granger, Anna Massey et al) provide the seasoning which makes this a most palatable effort.

I have now seen this about a hundred times and can practically talk along with it, but it never gets old, never gets tired and the DVD will be my next purchase (I *shall* have it!).

Helena Bonham-Carter is such a divinely eloquent actress, she shines above such veterans as Christopher Plummer, Diana Rigg, Edward Fox and Stewart Granger (the latter so very underused).

Plummer, Rigg and Fox are so horrifically over-the-top, you can only assume that the director was too intimidated by their previous credits to repress their cartoonish gleeful overacting.

Cartland works with a formula that makes this a very standard gothic romance, but it's saved, in parts, by the charm of the two leads, the extraordinary Bonham-Carter and the still little-seen Marcus Gilbert.

This also might not seem so infinitely cheesy if the predictable, derivative soundtrack didn't soar in so obviously.

Still, the film is a must for Bonham-Carter fans, if only to confirm what an excellent, expressive talent she is. And, as previous commentators have noted, this is ideal rainy Sunday afternoon fare.

The strength of this film is the performance of Helena Bonham-Carter in an early role. The plot comes straight from a romance novel, and thus is only for those who enjoy tales of young women in desperate situations that they overcome through spunk and the unexpected love of a mysterious nobleman, but it's a fun and charming way to pass a couple of hours.

As stated above, once you start, you cant stop. this movie, once you've seen it, you'll want to see it again, and again, and again...!

I saw it years ago and it proved to be unforgetable. even now, years later, i still remember the marvelous cliches and the beautiful blue eyed gaze of one Marcus Gilbert.

Romance at its finest!!!